June 4 – Happy Birthday, Aesop

Posted
on June 4, 2014

This ancient bust issupposed to depictAesop.

Aesop,
teller of tales and author of fables, lived a really, really long
time ago. Like, more than 2,500 years ago! It is not very probable
that we know precisely what day he was born. I'm not even positive
that his year of birth is certain. Still, several sources say that
Aesop was born on June 4, 620 B.C.E.

Aesop
lived in Ancient Greece. We sometimes give his profession as
“fabulist” – one who writes fables. Fabulous word, huh?

(Sometimes people use the
word fabulist to mean someone who is a liar – specifically,
someone who tells long, elaborate false stories.)

Okay,
enough about fabulous words – what about Aesop and his fables?

There
is a traditional story about Aesop's life:

Aesop
was a slave who was both exceedingly ugly but also very intelligent.
At some point, he was freed, and because of his cleverness, Aesop was
able to work his way up to becoming an adviser to kings and
governments.

This ancientcoin has animage that issupposed tobe Aesop

He
may or may not have been a black Ethiopian. He may or may not have
written some or all of the fables we credit to him. He may or may not
have even lived!

(So
you see why I am skeptical of the very specific birthdate given on
several websites – when some scholars aren't even sure that the man
ever lived?!)

One of the most famous of"Aesop's Fables" is "TheHare and the Tortoise."

Aesop's
Fables

Fables
are stories that usually feature animal characters and that are
written to teach a lesson.

The
biography of Aesop, called The Aesop Romance, states that he
wrote fables and left them with librarians at Croesus. However, this
anonymous so-called biography is known to be mostly fiction. Several
ancient scholars, historians, and intellectuals mention Aesop's
fables, so there probably was a book of his collected writings in
ancient times. However, not a scrap of his actual writings still
exist.

The
fables we now publish under Aesop's name may have little in common
with his original tales. It's not just a matter of translation from
Greek and Latin to English, and it's not just a matter of modern
interpretations. Scholars state that tales have been deleted and
added and revised over the centuries.

Still,
we can enjoy the fables we do have – whoever wrote them – through
books and videos and websites.

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This site is designed to be a source of interesting articles for kids and a resource for teachers and parents (especially homeschool teacher/parents!). From world holidays to historical anniversaries, Every Day Is Special celebrates each and every day.